| | | | |  | | By Sally Goldenberg, Anna Gronewold and Zachary Schermele | | | It’s go time for members of the New York City Council’s Progressive Caucus. Following months-long deliberations, the Caucus opted to rewrite its bylaws and demand support for a statement of principles that includes “reducing the size and scope of the NYPD” and to shift some police responsibilities to other agencies. The move triggered a fair amount of feuding, as Democrats reticent to sign the pledge grumbled that they were being forced into a politically untenable position while backers of the measure argued those who are leaving weren’t true progressive anyway. On both sides, members complained reporters shouldn’t be covering such internal deliberations. (“Why is this news?” one asked POLITICO.) Seven of the 35 caucus members confirmed plans to leave: Shaun Abreu, Diana Ayala and Keith Powers in Manhattan; Eric Dinowiz and Marjorie Velázquez in the Bronx; Lynn Schulman in Queens; and Justin Brannan in Brooklyn. Velázquez, Schulman and Brannan expect to have serious general election challenges in their purple districts, though Brannan said his decision was unrelated to electoral politics. Gothamist reported caucus leaders counted nine departures so far. In addition to the body’s four leaders, Tiffany Cabán, Nantasha Williams and Julie Won of Queens and Crystal Hudson and Sandy Nurse of Brooklyn confirmed plans to stay. “For the first time in many years, the Progressive Caucus has clarity and is more aligned with national progressive movements that are embracing evidence-backed approaches to public safety through ending poverty and historic investments in the social safety net,” Nurse said. “I’m grateful to the members who worked hard on the bylaws because if it stayed the same, I wouldn’t have participated.” Mayor Eric Adams seized on the friction to further his criticism of far-left Democrats. “Right here in the city, we have a group that is calling for removing members of their own caucus if they don't sign a pledge to defund the police. That is not who we are as Democrats and I’m going to continue to stand and state that we’re pro-public safety and we’re pro-proper policing,” the retired NYPD captain said on CNN Thursday morning. The four caucus leaders — Shahana Hanif, Lincoln Restler, Carmen De La Rosa and Jennifer Gutiérrez — vowed to fight Adams’ education cuts and housing plans and said the new rules “will make for a more cohesive, effective and strategic caucus as we look ahead to the FY24 budget and beyond.” IT’S FRIDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com and sgoldenberg@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold and @sallygold WHERE’S KATHY? In Washington, D.C., attending the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. WHERE’S ERIC? In Brooklyn delivering remarks at American Turkish Eyup Sultan Cultural Center’s Friday prayer for earthquake relief. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If the Spider-Man musical didn’t kill Broadway, I don't think anything can.” — Western New York GOP Sen. George Borrello at the Legislature’s joint economic development hearing
| | | | A message from American Beverage Association: At America’s beverage companies, we are committed to reducing our plastic footprint. That’s why we’re carefully designing our plastic bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. Our goal is for every bottle to become a new one, so they don’t end up in our oceans, rivers and landfills. Learn more at EveryBottleBack.org. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | “Young and Restless: City Drop-In Centers Told to Keep Runaway, Homeless Youth Awake,” by THE CITY’s Katie Honan: “Runaway and homeless youth who visit any of New York City’s overnight drop-in centers are now prohibited from “resting” there — and the providers have been ordered to remove any cots or resting places, THE CITY has learned. The Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) last month told the nonprofit providers of services for the city’s five overnight facilities to stop allowing those served — desperate New Yorkers between the ages of 14 and 24 — to get any shut-eye at the locations.” “Leader of NYC jails oversight board resigning in protest,” by City & State’s Jeff Coltin: “New York City Board of Correction Executive Director Amanda Masters is resigning from the oversight board, after the Department of Correction escalated tensions with the board by limiting its access to video from jails. According to multiple sources familiar with her decision, Masters has told people she is resigning and intends to leave the job in March.” “Seeking more pricey, electric Citi Bikes, Lyft enlists connected lobbyist: ex-Council Speaker Corey Johnson,” by WNYC’s Stephen Nessen: “Lyft wants to boost the number of electric Citi Bikes on the streets, and it's enlisting help from a source close to City Hall: former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. Lyft is paying the firm run by Johnson — who while in office championed legislation the e-hail company opposed — $12,500 per month to lobby the transportation department, city records show. But critics say the effort to raise the cap on the percentage of e-bikes in the system’s fleet is a Trojan horse for higher fares.” “NYC will have $4.9B budget surplus for 2023, watchdog says,” by New York Post’s Nolan Hicks: “Cash-strapped New York City might not be as cash-strapped as City Hall’s financial projections show thanks to an upsurge in tax revenues from real estate, retail, and hotels, the Independent Budget Office said Thursday. The city watchdog projects that the Big Apple will end its 2023 budget with a surplus of $4.9 billion — and another $2.6 billion for 2024.”
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | LASALLE SAGA CONTINUES: State Sen. Anthony Palumbo on Thursday sued members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins over the chamber’s rejection of Hector LaSalle to be chief judge. The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court, alleges that the Judiciary Committee’s Jan. 18 rejection of LaSalle was illegitimate because the 19-member panel does not meet the constitutional standard for Senate consideration of a gubernatorial nominee for the position. PALUMBO, a Republican who lives in Suffolk County, wants the court to declare that constitutional and judiciary law requires a yay or nay vote from the full Senate. He also wants the court to declare that the formal letter of rejection signed by Stewart-Cousins doesn’t count because it should have been signed by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is the Senate president, per the constitution. HOCHUL has made that same argument, in hopes that her appointee might earn more support from the 63-member chamber, but she has not taken any action in the three weeks since LaSalle was rejected by the Senate Judiciary. Her office declined to comment on Palumbo’s litigation. SENATE DEMOCRATS, who have declared the matter of LaSalle’s nomination closed and have asked Hochul to choose someone new, are dismissing it. Spokesperson Mike Murphy said they had yet to be served on the lawsuit and "it is embarrassing but not surprising that the Senate Republicans have no basic understanding of law or the constitution." —Anna New York to drop masking requirements in hospitals, health care facilities, by POLITICO’s Maya Kaufman: Acting Health Commissioner Dr. James V. McDonald said the department’s decision to not request a renewal of the emergency regulation reflects a “period of transition” in the pandemic, thanks to decreasing levels of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations. “It allows us to shift from blanket mandates to an approach in which we provide people with the information and tools they need to protect themselves,” McDonald said Thursday during a state Public Health and Health Planning Council meeting. “Hochul Ditched Promise of Health Insurance for Undocumented People. She Could Cost New York $500 Million,” by New York Focus’ Sam Mellins: “But last week, when Hochul unveiled her budget proposal for New York’s next fiscal year, the promise was left out. Hochul’s backtrack will likely leave tens of thousands of undocumented people without health insurance. And it could cost New York hundreds of millions of dollars, according to experts across the political spectrum. That’s because without the federal dollars, New York will have to continue its current policy: paying for undocumented New Yorkers’ emergency health care using its own money.” #UpstateAmerica: Gardiner Fire and Rescue ice-rescued a dog from the Wallkill River after a call from the dog’s owner, who had jumped in the frozen river fully clothed. In the owner’s words: “I’m the type who never asks for help and gets it done themselves, but I realized if someone didn't come soon myself and my dog were gonners.”
| | | | A message from American Beverage Association:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | Santos was charged with theft in 2017 case tied to Amish dog breeders, by Jacqueline Sweet for POLITICO: “Rep. George Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country in 2017 after a series of bad checks were written in his name to dog breeders, according to the court and a lawyer friend who helped him address the charge. Just days after $15,125 in checks were made out for ‘puppies,’ according to the memo lines, Santos held an adoption event at a Staten Island pet store with his animal rescue charity Friends of Pets United, according to the store’s Instagram account and a person who attended the event. “Jewish congressman introduces his colleagues to ‘real’ bagels at House Bagel Caucus meeting,” by Forward’s Jacob Kornbluh: “Goldman’s office said he created the House Bagel Caucus to ‘ensure that every Representative, reporter, and staffer on Capitol Hill has the opportunity to eat a real (read: New York) bagel.’ The caucus was launched Thursday to mark National Bagels and Lox Day.”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Big cruise ships are about to bring big toxic exhaust to Brooklyn. — “Inside Central Park Zoo’s effort to recapture Flaco the missing owl: dead rats, nets and long nights.” — The NYPD is investigating how a white king pigeon was dyed completely pink. — Two specialized dyslexia programs will open at Brooklyn public schools as New York focuses more on children with the learning disability. — Andrew Cuomo, on his podcast, is blaming Biden for the migrant crisis. — GlobalFoundries signed a long-term agreement with General Motors Co. to make computer chips for GM vehicles at its Fab 8 factory in Malta. — Federal prosecutors aren’t saying whether they’ll seek the death penalty against the gunman who killed 10 Black people at Tops supermarket in Buffalo.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: George Stephanopoulos … Glenn Beck … Jim Cramer … Clark Maturo … John Yang … Michelle Levi Noe … Reuters’ Aram Roston … CNN’s Mallory Thompson … WSJ’s Michael Gordon … Franco Ripple of BCW Global (4-0) MAKING MOVES — Shams Tarek started this week as deputy commissioner for external affairs at the state Office of General Services. … Kathleen Pakenham and Adriana Wirtz have started as partners at Vinson & Elkins in its tax controversy and litigation practice. They previously worked for Cooley.
| | | | A message from American Beverage Association: America’s leading beverage companies - The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo - are working together to reduce our industry’s plastic footprint through our Every Bottle Back initiative. We’re investing in efforts to get our bottles back so we can remake them into new bottles and use less new plastic.
Together, we’re:
· Designing 100% recyclable plastic bottles – we’re making our bottles from PET that’s strong, lightweight and easy to recycle.
· Investing in community recycling – we’re marshaling the equivalent of nearly a half-billion dollars with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners to support community recycling programs across multiple states.
· Raising awareness – we’re adding on-pack reminders to encourage consumers to recycle our plastic bottles and caps.
Our bottles are made to be remade. Please help us get Every Bottle Back. | | | | | Real Estate | | “Partying With the New YIMBYs on the Block,” by Curbed’s Bridget Read: “Our too-damn-high rent is creating more ‘pro-housing’ activists by the day — whether they’re lifelong New Yorkers being priced out of their neighborhoods or Morgan Stanley interns griping about commuting from Sunset Park — and Open New York thinks they’re all members in the making. They could be right. As the night’s mingling kicked off, a guy in a rugby shirt surveyed the crowd approvingly: ‘This is definitely the most people I’ve seen at a happy hour!’”
| | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment